This invention relates to temporary guide bases for underwater drilling operations.
It has long been recognized that many valuable petroleum deposits lie beneath the lakes and ocean coastlines and in recent years substantial technology has developed relative to drilling in underwater environments. These operations involve many problems and in instances where the ocean or lake bed is soft and muddy, these problems are made even more pronounced. For over forty years, technology has existed to utilize a submersible foundation hull or barge for drilling into water covered ground as evidenced by Willey, U.S. Pat. No. 2,217,879 (Oct. 15, 1940). Willey describes a submersible foundation having a system of piping so as to allow the compartments to fill with water to submerge the device and to pump air or other vaporous material into the device to displace water so as to float it to the surface again where it can be towed to a new location. The only practical way to transport such a large box in the absence of extremely large and expensive ships is to tow the device to the site.